Marriott International acquires Le Méridien Kochi

Le Méridien, Kochi ­ an international chain which was previously managed by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide ­ will now be run by Marriott International.Vikram Vinod | TNN | December 21, 2016, 16:00 IST

Le Méridien, Kochi ­ an international chain which was previously managed by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide ­ will now be run by Marriott International.

“Le Méridien Kochi, is property owned by Galfar, but will now be managed by Marriott international,“ said Chinnu Jimmy , marketing and communications manager of the Kochi Marriot. She said Le Méridien is currently listed as one of the hotel currently operating under Marriott International and as of now Marriot has no intentions in renaming Le Méridien Kochi. Prior to this merger, which took place in September, Marriott International ran two hotels within the city, Courtyard Kochi Airport and Kochi Marriot Hotel adjacent to Lulu Mall. Both these properties are owned by NRI tycoon, Yusuff Ali.

“This is a how the hotel industry is mostly run, the entrepreneurs who own the property tie up with an international chain of hotel, who manages the hotel. In Kochi of now, Marriott International manages three hotels,“ said Chinnu. The main reason for such tie-ups is to utilize brand positioning of established hotels.

At present, the three ho tels being owned by two different entrepreneurs has been working cohesively with each other, thereby interlinking the success of one to the other. “We are not currently competing with each other.We are working on running each hotel in the best way they can. It is still a work in progress, but we are using and managing resources across three hotels in a cohesive manner. This merger is significant as it will have an impact on the luxury hospitality sector,“ Chinnu said.

Currently, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) is levied at 12 per cent on payments made for under-construction property or ready-to-move-in flats where completion certificate has not been issued at the time of sale.